Losing Leah had me gripped from the start.
It starts with a man you later learn is Chris Hill frantically searching the ladies in a service station for his wife.
DS Daley is one of the officers on the case, which takes them from Norfolk to Wales looking for clues to help them find Leah. The detail of the police investigation makes it a really interesting read.
There numerous twists and just when you think you know whats about to happen it turns again.

Losing Leah by Sue Welfare was great. Thats the best I can summarize it. I have to say I was so caught up in the story I was able to finish it in about 2 hours of reading. i couldn't put it down. She did such an incredible job of painting a picture in your mind of story that it was like I was right there alongside the lead detective as she was solving the mystery. I couldn't wait to find out what happened to Leah and figure out who-done-it! I would be very interested in reading more novels by Sue with this cast. I for sure recommend this book to everyone!

Thank you to Mirror Books and Sue Welfare for providing me with this reading copy!

I found this predictable and not different from many of the other new domestic suspense novels out there. What really happened to Leah was obvious to me from early in the book and I struggled to engage with any of the characters. The subplot with Mel and XXX was particularly pointless. Not a bad book, but did not stand out in any good way.

A solid addition to the thriller genre, with well written characters and smooth plotting. This isn't as twisty as some of the novels it will be compared too, but that doesn't detract from it's readability at all. An enjoyable ride.

I started to read this but found it slow paced and too much police procedural for me so gave up I'm afraid.

Not as unpredictable as I had hoped, this is nevertheless an interesting novel that held a few surprises along the way. The characters are well built and it's fascinating how they all have different temperament depending on who they're with. For instance, someone who may be charming to strangers may not be the best of friends and the way that Leah's personality changes as the cops follow the investigation is impressive. Poor Leah is useless without her husband, right? Maybe not, as she is a very efficient employee. One small detail that I didn't care for is how the narrative changes between first and third person. This is a pet peeve of mine because the change in POV is distracting, in my opinion. Plus, Sergeant Mel Daley, the main character, has such a strong voice that I wanted to hear more of her, not less. This is a promising debut for Ms. Welfare, I hope there are more Daleys in her future.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the Publishers, Mirror Books, for providing this review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Early on a cold dark February morning, Chris and Leah Hills stop at a motorway service station just before the borders of Wales, on their way to their Welsh holiday cottage. Leah goes into the services and disappears. No one has seen her, and no one knows where she is. DS Mel Daley and her boss, DI Harry Baker turn up to investigate. Their search takes them to the desolate Riverside Cottage in Wales and all the way over to the East coast town of Denham Market near Norwich. Can they find out what happened to Leah Hills?

This was my first book by this author. I’ve never heard of her before which is a surprise considering how many books she has written!

This book was very cleverly written. I started off not expecting much if you want me to be honest. The blurb sounded interesting and I liked the fact that it was set in the UK. It began straight into the mystery with Chris Hills being found in the ladies toilets of a motorway service searching for his wife Leah. She had gone into the services whilst he was locking the car and had just disappeared. All very mysterious! As she was unable to be found, the police were called and DI Harry Baker and DS Mel Daley arrive to investigate. They both think that the couple had had a row and the wife had walked off, but I’m not sure if that would have made a good story so it’s obvious there is going to be a lot more to it.

The story is told alternatively from the perspective of Mel Daley and from a third person. Mel is obviously the main character of the story and she seems a very likeable character. She does have a separate side story going on with the mysterious Mr XXXXXX. I’m not sure whether this story was really needed as I didn’t really see where it was going, but I suppose it did show that Mel had a personal life and revealed a little bit more about the character. I love the relationship between Mel and her boss Harry Baker. He seems to view her as a valuable member of the team, and misses her input when he sends her over to Norwich to carry on the investigation there. Mel also comes across as a good police officer, knows her stuff and works well with others she comes across. She’s also like a ‘dog with a bone’ and, as it shows towards the end, won’t let up until all the loose ends have been tied.

Chris Hills’ character is a difficult one. Initially I found it hard to work out this character. His whole personality was just weird and creepy, but at times I almost felt sorry for him when he was obviously very distressed at the fact that his wife was missing. You just know though that there is something about him which stops you wanting to be on his side!

I really enjoyed this book, much more than I thought I would. As I began reading it, I started telling my husband little bits about the plot to see if he could guess what had happened to Leah. He’s partially sighted and usually listens to books rather than physically reading them, and he was enjoying my little snippets I kept feeding him that I ended up having to read it all to him! We both had our opinions as to what was happening, and they changed several times throughout the course of the book. I think we eventually worked it out towards the end, but was certainly not expecting the last few paragraphs. This is definitely one book you need to read right to the very last word.

I won’t say anything about the actual plot of the story for fear of spoilers, but the whole story was well thought out, well planned and very well researched. It held our attention from the first page and we have spent the last couple of hours sat here with me reading it out loud just to get to the end! For me, it was one of those books that hang around a little bit after you’ve finished them because it gets right into you. It did feel that it should be part of a series to follow on the story of DS Mel Daley. There’s nothing yet to say it is, but fingers crossed to there being another one!

A very gripping read, each chapter giving a cliff-hanger at the end tempting you to read just one more page!

Fab, Fab, Fab

Enjoyable police novel. Nice linear structure. Interesting characters, and no overly graphic violence, just clever menace and intrigue.

#LosingLeah by Sue Welfare
#NetGalley
22 March 2018

Another great book from #NetGalley. Sergeant Mel Daley and her boss DI Harry Baker have been called out for a woman missing from a service station where husband Chris is wandering around crying for his wife Leah who went into the rest stop but never came out. As the story progresses several not so nice things about Chris’s past come to the surface which makes the search for Leah turn into a search for her body as it is feared that she’s no longer alive. It also comes to light that Chris has been married before and has 3 children. The book’s two detectives make a perfect team which kind of gets ruined when at the end you find out that Mel has asked for a transfer. This was the only thing I didn’t like but maybe when the sequel arrives Sue Welfare can keep them together. I unequivocally would recommend this book to friends and family. I received the book from #NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review

Losing Leah
By Sue Welfare

A thrilling case of mystery, that leaves the reader guessing to the very end.

With twists and turns, even to the last page, this book hooks you in, until the end.

On a cold, dark February morning, Chris and Leah Hills stop for coffee at an isolated service station a stone’s throw from the Welsh Borders. While Leah heads inside, Chris locks the car and goes in to order their drinks. Minutes pass. Chris waits and waits, but Leah doesn’t come back. When Sergeant Mel Daley and her boss, Detective Inspector Harry Baker, arrive to begin a search for the missing woman, their investigation calls everything into question. Is she alive? Did she leave the service station with someone else? Did Leah ever even leave Norfolk? While her husband becomes more frantic, the pair begin to unravel a tangle of dark secrets from the past.

A well written debut novel, and I am looking forward to reading more from Sue Welfare.

#LosingLeah #NetGalley

www.books-reviewed.weebly.com

Chris' wife Leah goes missing on the way to their vacation cottage and though clearly panicked, things aren't adding up to the police. As the days pass, more and more details emerge that point to Chris as a suspect and the growing certainty that when they do find her, it will be as a corpse. 

Controlling, deviant and frightening even to his sister when angered, details emerge about Chris' past and present that are disturbing and only support the running theory that they are not looking for Leah but her body. Chris sticks to his story throughout and the few people that knew her are of little help as it becomes clear that he kept Leah on a tight leash and that she was tight-lipped about her life. 

There are surprises along the way: the vacation cottage? A run-down, dreary place. The house? Spotless and impersonal. But the garage? A riot of color and artwork that belies Leah's lack of personality in her daily life. Things at Chris' job are not what they appear and Leah turns out to be far more resourceful and capable than her husband gives her credit for.

A five star book all day long great storyline and characters and a plausible scenario showing how we accept people just disappear from our lives and don’t question why - yes really enjoyed this and was gripped from the start perhaps the explanation re cctv was a bit laboured but l understand why detail was needed but only a small gripe

Absolutely loved it. I simply could not put this down. I felt like I was part of the police force trying to find this missing person before it was to late, and putting the book down might jeopardize the outcome. Very highly recommend. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn’t put this book down and when I had to put it down, I didn’t want to. This book starts with a husband, Chris, searching for his wife, Leah, in a service station. Then enter the detectives, Daley and Baker, who start unraveling the truth piece by piece. Did Leah even make it to the station at all?

I was guessing the entire time. I had some of the truth right but there were many other twists and turns thrown in. This was a great book from start to finish! I loved the different characters and different points of view. Highly recommended. Thank you Netgalley and Mirror Books for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was a fantastic debut novel. Chris and Leah Hills are heading to their holiday home in Wales when they stop at a service station where Leah vanishes. The police are called in but no one seems to know where she has gone. Sgt Mel Daley and DI Harry Baker are out on the case to investigate.
Harry is distraught about his missing wife but is there more to this missing person case? What happened to his first wife? Is Leah alive or dead?
I thought this was well written and it kept me hooked. Will be looking out for future novels by Sue Welfare.
Thanks to Sue Welfare, Mirtor books and Net Galley for an advance copy in exchange for a honest review.

#LosingLeah #NetGalley

A well written first novel with a couple of twists. Chris Hill is searching a service station for his wife when questioned by the police. He says they drove there together but she has gone missing. No sign of her is found on CCTV so the police start investigating Chris and whether he has killed her. The book is written from the perspective of the police woman who is undertaking the investigation and delves into the background of all characters involved. Highly recommended.

In “Losing Leah” by Sue Welfare we are thrown into the search by Chris Hills for his wife Leah. She went into a service station along the highway but never came out. The big question is where did she disappear to – Chris was waiting for her and the surveillance cameras don’t show her anywhere.

As more police are brought onto the case the detective in charge seems to question what really happened – was Leah actually there in the first place? As Chris and Leah’s lives are dissected more than a few secrets will be revealed.

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Mirror Books for a review copy of Losing Leah, a police procedural featuring DS Mel Daley of the Mercia Police.

Chris and Leah Hills are on their way to their holiday cottage in Wales and stop at Hoden Gap service station. This is the last time Chris sees Leah. DI Baker and the team swing into action but nobody has seen her and there is no trace of her on CCTV so they begin to suspect that she was never there and focus their attention on Chris.

What a great read. I devoured this novel in one sitting, initially enjoying the procedural aspects of the hunt for a missing person but soon getting caught up in the plot. It's not a long read but it's absorbing with great plotting and pace. I thoroughly enjoyed the way the novel opens out from a "simple" missing persons case to something much darker and the way DI Baker slowly allows Chris Hills to reveal his thought processes.

The novel is split into a first person narrative from Mel Daley and a third person when she's not involved. It sounds clumsy but actually works extremely well, giving the reader a wider perspective of the investigation but still maintaining the intimacy of Mel's thoughts. Her voice is smart but inviting and natural, making the novel an easy read. I'm looking forward to meeting her again.

Chris Hills is a very well drawn character with his grief and creepy take on marriage but it's not a crime. I found myself fascinated and repulsed every time he opened his mouth but, again, what works for one couple doesn't work for everyone so who are we to judge? I also enjoyed the detectives' speculation on what he says as it seems very natural.

Losing Leah is a great read and the only thing preventing me from awarding it 5* is that I had a good idea about the main thrust of the plot from the start although there were plenty of other unexpected twists and turns along the way. I have no hesitation in recommending it.

It seems like every book like this is just a copy of the last one.

This book was a complete let down I was really looking forward to reading it but this was not for me.

The book was repetitive which made the book very dull in places.

Also the author seems to use to many different points of view it was really hard to keep following. A real let down because I felt that the book did not need it.